Scarlet Stiletto Awards 2025
Now open! With more than $13,000 in prizes up for grabs. The Scarlet Stilettos are Australia’s premier short story awards for crime fiction written by Australian women. More female criminal talent – of the literary kind – is about to be uncovered! Read more
Desperate times, desperate measures
Homelessness, financial crises, bad decisions, and family secrets can make for desperate times requiring desperate measures – even murder. Authors Michelle Prak, Samantha Byres, and Anna Snoekstra will chew over the issues with fellow author, Ilsa Evans.
Murder Monday: Maryrose Cuskelly
For Murder Monday, Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem spoke to award-winning Melbourne author, Maryrose Cuskelly. She writes both fiction and non-fiction. Her books include Wedderburn: A true tale of blood and dust; Original Skin: Exploring the marvels of the human hide, and the novels, The Cane, and The Campers.
Red Herrings
Catch up with the latest crime events from around the nation. Already there are lots of crime events happening, especially in New South Wales and Victoria. Whatever the time, whatever the season, don’t forget that a book is the perfect gift. It offers so much reading pleasure as well as supporting authors and the publishing industry.
Davitt Awards: Longlist
The long list for the Davitt Awards 2025 has been announced.150 books were entered and the judges have selected 29 for the longlist. It has been a particularly challenging task this year. As Ruth Wykes, award winning short story writer and Judges’ Co-ordinator, said this year’s longlist is a stunning and diverse collection of stories.
Mystery, Intrigue and History: Jacquie Pham
Jacquie Pham’s debut novel has landed and it is a spellbinding historical murder mystery that transports readers to the lavish yet treacherous world of 1920s French-colonial Vietnam—a setting rarely explored in fiction with such depth and intensity. She talks with Robyn Walton about why this story and how it developed.
Too Young To Know, Too Old To Listen: Joan Sauers
Not sure how old to make the protagonist in her Southern Highlands Mysteries series Joan Sauers took inspiration from the Baby Animals… ‘too young to know, too old to listen’. She explains why ….
Why women turn to crime (fiction)
Carmel Shute, the co-founder of Sisters in Crime in 1991, spoke to Graduate House at the University of Melbourne on 4 June. She was pleased that that the audience included a few Sisters in Crime members – Katrina Watson, Di Lightfoot, and K L Joy.
Win a Text Publishing crime book
Text Publishing is generously donating five copies of four of its best-sellers for the June Crime Stack – Traced by Catherine Jinks, Lay Your Body Down by Amy Suiter Clarke, No One Will Know by Rose Carlyle, and The Name of the Sister by Gail Jones. Join now to be in the running for a free copy.
New Reviews
Every month Sisters in Crime brings you new reviews from women who write criminally good books.